2025 Resolve To Have Better Communication With Your COPD Care Team

Gone are the days when your family doctor would magically appear at your bedside for a check-up if you were hospitalized. The face of health care has changed from house calls to barely being connected to your doctor through tele-med video chat visits.

If you find yourself admitted into the hospital, you will most likely get assigned a hospitalist who is a virtual stranger to manage your care. This is someone who comes in to speak on your behalf while you are struggling through illness, pain, and general discomfort from being hospitalized.

The changing landscape of hospital care

Bedside manners have been replaced with white coats, with the focus on checking boxes and freeing up bed space for higher profit margin patients instead of helping humans connected to wires, tubes, and call lights.

But there is a way to get what you need from your healthcare team without causing a scene.

Building a better relationship with your doctor

With the new year approaching, we tend to write down the resolutions and hope for the best. You may have on your Christmas list a wish for a better relationship with your doctor!

What would you think if I told you that you could teach your COPD care team how to care for you better? It is possible! Let me show you how. For most people, health care is emotional and overwhelming at times.

For the COPD patients I care for, the number one struggle is feeling like they don't have complete conversations with their care teams. Many COPD patients have dual diagnoses beyond lung issues, such as mobility challenges or anxiety/mental health concerns. Making the most of your communications with your care team is vital. You can achieve that by following a few simple steps and make sure you organize your thoughts ahead of your phone calls, emails, and visits.

Steps to improve communication with your care team

• By writing down your outline first, you can ensure your needs are being addressed. By focusing on the clarity of the message and the call to action request, you can streamline your quality of care and lower your stress level.
• Who you are: Name and date of birth 
• Why are you calling
• What you need from the doctor
• Be specific: Do you need records faxed? Provide the fax number 
• Do you need to report your vitals? List the most recent numbers, including the lowest and highest readings and any symptoms
• Do you need a callback? Ask for one!
• Do you need communication through a patient portal? Please advise them on the best way for the medical team to get back to you
• Are you having difficulty managing access to your online health portal? Tell your care provider and request to receive only phone calls, not texts
• An important factor to remember is that your COPD care team works FOR you
• As the patient, you are also responsible for using your time wisely and making the most out of each interaction with your healthcare team

By writing out your game plan, you will cut down on having to call 4 times and still feel like your needs were not met, refills weren't confirmed, and care plans were not clear.

You can make 2025 the year YOU take control of your care plan and focus on the things that make life worth living!